Non-prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 31, 2021
This struck me as a more typical Mudd than our last and it was one I enjoyed a lot. My favourites are 3 (DANCE) for its surface, 4 (FOREARM), 8 (HITHERTO) and 9 (COVENTRY).
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SOLIDIFY |
Sauce bottles provided by top set (8)
|
| LID (top) + IF (provided) together in (bottles) SOY (sauce) | ||
| 5 | STITCH |
Something sharp felt in abdomen, tack (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | COVENTRY |
Group good at spelling test somewhere in the West Midlands (8)
|
| COVEN (group good at spelling) + TRY (test) | ||
| 10 | MULLET |
Fish cut (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | IN THE DARK |
Unaware, having experienced power failure? (2,3,4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | HINGE |
Some couch, in general, for rest (5)
|
| Hidden word (some) | ||
| 14 | STEM |
Stop setter, me oddly! (4)
|
| S[e]T[t]E[r] M[e] | ||
| 16 | PROTEST |
Complain: curse about mildew (7)
|
| ROT (mildew) in (about) PEST (curse) | ||
| 19 | ANAGRAM |
Out of one’s mind, demons in perhaps? (7)
|
| Double definition by example | ||
| 21 | ARNE |
English composer in Elgar needed (4)
|
| Hidden word (in) | ||
| 24 | KINDA |
More thoughtful did you say? Sort of (5)
|
| Homophone (did you say?) of “kinder” (more thoughtful). ‘Kinda’ seems widely used to me but I felt the need to check if the word is in dictionaries. The result was that it is. | ||
| 25 | CHANTEUSE |
Tune lost in hunt for singer (9)
|
| Anagram (lost) of TUNE in (in) CHASE (hunt) | ||
| 27 | TACKLE |
Grasp and restrain two mammals from behind (6)
|
| ELK (one mammal) + CAT (a second mammal) all backwards (from behind) | ||
| 28 | UNSTATED |
Composition of a student not articulated clearly (8)
|
| Anagram (composition of) of A STUDENT | ||
| 29 | POTENT |
Mighty figure cracking basin (6)
|
| TEN (figure) in (cracking) POT (basin) | ||
| 30 | STINGRAY |
Fish, cheese and eggs sent back (8)
|
| YARG (cheese) + NITS (eggs) all backwards (sent back). Yarg is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese made in Cornwall, UK. I know the name but do not remember ever eating it. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SICKIE |
For starters, everyone instinctively knows cut in salary coming – day taken off work (6)
|
| E[veryone] I[nstinctively] K[nows] C[ut] I[n] S[alary] backwards (coming) | ||
| 2 | LEVITY |
Silliness: fine to embrace it (6)
|
| IT (it) in (to embrace) LEVY (fine) | ||
| 3 | DANCE |
Colombian leader inspired by European trip (5)
|
| C[olombian] in (inspired by) DANE (European) | ||
| 4 | FOREARM |
What’s raised to get attention in class? (7)
|
| EAR (attention) in (in) FORM (class) | ||
| 6 | TOUCHDOWN |
Little bit sad when Eagle landed? (9)
|
| TOUCH (little bit) + DOWN (sad) | ||
| 7 | TALENTED |
Brilliant date fixed to host solemn Christian event (8)
|
| LENT (solemn Christian event) in (to host) anagram (fixed) of DATE | ||
| 8 | HITHERTO |
So far bang on time, protagonist’s claimed (8)
|
| HIT (bang) + T (time) in (claimed) HERO (protagonist) | ||
| 11 | SKIP |
Bypass spring (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 15 | TARPAULIN |
Waterproof material boy and I found in lake (9)
|
| PAUL (boy) + I (I) together in TARN (lake). A tarn is a mountain lake. | ||
| 17 | BACKSTOP |
Catcher supports spinner (8)
|
| BACKS (supports) + TOP (spinner) | ||
| 18 | WAINSCOT |
Two cans I mixed up for wooden panelling (8)
|
| Anagram (mixed up) of TWO CANS I | ||
| 20 | MACE |
Staff initial on membership card (4)
|
| M[embership] + ACE (card) | ||
| 21 | AGAINST |
V good person after a profit (7)
|
| A (a) + GAIN (profit) + ST (good person) | ||
| 22 | BUTTER |
Pat goat? (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | DEADLY |
Lethal compound of lead lining walls in deanery (6)
|
| Anagram (compound of) LEAD in (lining) D[eaner]Y | ||
| 26 | TITAN |
Giant strain, by the sound of it? (5)
|
| Homophone (by the sound of it) of “tighten” (strain) |
Thanks, Pete.
Don’t you think that 1dn should have read ‘coming up’?
The FT typographers are not always the most accurate around.
Sil@1
Yes, you’re right, this would have been more accurate. It was obviously SICKIE from the definition so when the initials read forwards didn’t work, I simply tried backwards too.
DANCE and BUTTER eluded me but they seem clear enough now I’ve seen the blog. I do remember liking STINGRAY, MULLET and HINGE.
Thanks to Mudd and Pete.
Thanks all – I did enjoy it, but I am surprised two weeks later how many clues had question marks against them. For example, I parsed AGAINST, but did not connect it to the cleverly-hidden V. Thanks to Pete, I now understand it and think it is a great clue. I solved STINGRAY, and got NITS, but not YARG – not sure why I did not just google it. I also wonder whether SOLIDIFY is in the wrong order (it is actually IF followed by LID). And so on – you get the idea.
My favourite clues (in addition to AGAINST) were DANCE, COVENTRY BACKSTOP and PROTEST
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Thanks Mudd for a solid crossword. I needed help to solve the clever clues HITHERTO and AGAINST and I still don’t understand ANAGRAM but nothing else fit the crossings. Favourites included SOLIDIFY and COVENTRY. Lent is a solemn Christian season rather than an event but that’s a minor quibble. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Thanks for a more gentle workout Mudd. This did seem more straightforward.
Tony@4 – “ones mind” and “demons in” are anagrams, so the clue is telling you the relationship between them. Out of one you get the other.
I also enjoyed COVENTRY for the definition.
Thanks for the blog Pete.
Mystogre @5: Thanks. That’s a bit above my pay grade.
I entered ANAGRAM without fully understanding it until reading this blog, confirmed by Mystogre’s comment. Had I persevered, I’d have dubbed this super clue my pick of the bunch. Thanks to both.
Super blog , thank you. Sil @ 1 must be correct with coming UP, coming is not really backwards and backwards is not really right for a down clue.
FOREARM was a nice &lit , BUTTER was very neat and I dd like the V in AGAINST .
Much more the usual MUDD. for which I am grateful. Couldn’t quite finish NW corner. Took forever to work out why AGANST was correct but when it finally came to me I thought it was one of the best clues for some time. Understanding ANAGRAM needed the explanations for me.
Sil, Yes I agree that Mudd probably intended “coming up” in 1dn. It is better in every respect. Like Diane, I paid scant attention to the wordplay because the definition was so clear.
Thanks Mudd and Pete
Found this an entertaining puzzle that I didn’t start until yesterday. Was able to get it done in a little under average time but failed to properly parse 19a (which I complicated by trying to make it a compound anagram of the other) and HITHERTO.
Enjoyed his double definitions as per normal and thought that the reverse charades of TACKLE and STINGRAY were special.
Finished in the NE corner with TALENTED, MULLET (that fishy haircut again) and HITHERTO the last few in.